Mark Beaumont follows Phileas Fogg in world record attempt

Dawn Renton

Ultra-endurance athlete Mark Beaumont has today (Sunday, July 2) set off on his record breaking attempt to cycle around the world in just 80 days.

In 2008 Mark successfully cycled around the world in 194 days, this time he will attempt to do it in less than half the time.

Inspired by Jules Verne’s classic adventure novel Around the World in Eighty days published in 1873, Mark will attempt to circumnavigate the globe over 144 years later by bicycle rather than balloon as he embarks on the Artemis World Cycle.

Mark departed from Paris at 04:00 this morning, making his way towards Poland en route to Beijing through Lithuania, Russia, and Mongolia before cycling between Perth and Brisbane in Australia.

In New Zealand Mark will head for Invercargill and Auckland with the fourth leg of his challenge taking him between Anchorage in the United States and Halifax in Canada. He will attempt to complete his journey by cycling from Lisbon back to Paris with the aim of arriving by Thursday, September 21.

Mark said: “This is my chance to shoot for the stars and take on the ultimate endurance cycling challenge. Since I last pedalled around the world nearly ten years ago, there has been a growing desire in me to push the boundaries of what is possible and to retake the circumnavigation World Record at a whole new level. I know what I’m getting myself in to, this will be the toughest challenge of my life and will be an immense physical, mental and logistical battle before I reach the finish line.

“I have spent the last three years creating an amazing support team, who are in charge of my nutrition, logistics, navigation and safety, allowing me to purely focus on my performance and being an athlete. I don’t think anyone has ever tried to go this fast and this far before and I have been building on my experience as an endurance rider over two decades to prepare for this journey”.

In the run up to his world record attempt, Mark completed a 3,300 mile training route around the British coastline in April, setting the pace for his bid to break the around the world record. To successfully complete the challenge, he will be required to cycle for 16 hours a day, which is 240 miles for 75 days. The remaining five days allow for two days contingency and flight time.

The Artemis World Cycle has partnered with Twinkl to create lesson plans and educational material for primary schools across the globe. Mark also aims to raise £10 for every mile cycled, a total of £180,000 for Orkidstudio, a humanitarian architectural charity which he has worked with for the last decade.

Keep track of Mark’s progress via the website and social media channels which will be regularly updated as the journey progresses. www.artemisworldcycle.com.